


Welcome to the Batfam

by Common_fan_writes



Series: Welcome to the Batfam [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Original Work
Genre: Angst, Fantasy, Fluff, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Science Fiction, Some Cursing from Jason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-24 17:02:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 14,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21621403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Common_fan_writes/pseuds/Common_fan_writes
Summary: May contain material disturbing to some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.A story about how those who have no home find a home in each other.
Relationships: Bruce Wayne & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Cass Cain & Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Original Characters & Batfam, Richard Grayson/Barbara Gordon - Romantic
Series: Welcome to the Batfam [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1558327
Kudos: 8





	1. Richard

**Author's Note:**

> Please see end notes for specifics on warnings.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own any of the characters in this fiction other than those whom I might specifically specify to be mine.  
> The characters belong to the DCU; they do not belong to me.

Richard jumped from rooftop to rooftop. The night was freezing, and the cold breeze only made it worse. By now he was used to the cold, dark nights in Gotham. It had been years since he’d started fighting crime in this colorless, crime-ridden city. Gotham definitely wasn’t the nicest place, but his family lived here, so why would he ever leave? He didn’t bother to think about it. There were so many reasons to leave that he wondered why he had come back after the first few times he had left.  


Richard stopped on a roof after he heard a small noise from near him. It must’ve been a small animal, but for some reason it disturbed him. After all, most of the stray animals had been disappearing off of the streets and somehow ending up in the manor. It was getting out of control.  


He listened for a moment to try and locate from where the noise had come, but he didn’t hear another sound other than the breeze howling in his ears. He was about to move on when he heard a voice behind him.  


“Going somewhere?”  


He whipped around immediately to be met with a complete stranger. He couldn’t see the person’s face behind her mask. She looked about two inches shorter than him. She wore all dark gray, except the black cloak, mask, and belt. Richard couldn’t see any defining features because of the outfit they were wearing, but the voice had belonged to a girl.  


The stranger aimed a punch at him, but they were a little too slow and just barely missed. Richard immediately jumped into action, defending himself. The person was pretty good at fighting, but always missed by a hair. However, Richard’s attacks never landed.  


Something felt off about the fight, but it wasn’t any different than other fights he’d had in the past. Something was just wrong. The person moved somewhat unnaturally, and it didn’t really seem like she was completely human. After a while, something caught his eye as he was avoiding an attack - the stranger had a knife in her belt. The handle was black, but the blade glinted in the moonlight. Why hadn’t she even tried to use it? She was obviously tiring from the fight. She was slowing down very quickly - too quickly. No one would be this skilled but unable to fight for long. It was way too obvious that she was tired. Normally people tried to hide their tiredness.  


Richard found a moment in the fight where the stranger had stopped. He paused as well for a moment, not that he needed to take a break, but that this was a chance to observe. Then he noticed the silence. It was too silent. Shouldn’t his brothers be talking over the coms? They had been chattering nonstop a while ago. Why was there radio silence now? They never had radio silence. He decided to try and break the silence. After all, they needed to know that he was busy and couldn’t deal with any crimes until after the fight. Why hadn’t he even tried to communicate earlier?  


_Idiot,_ he scolded himself.  


“Nightwing to anyone,” he called over the communicator. The only response was static.  


_My communications are jammed,_ he realized. The stranger looked up at him. He couldn’t see her smirk, but he could kind of feel it. Was this some kind of trap?  


That question was answered in the blink of an eye. The was a rush of air, and, for the first time, he failed to dodge. Before he knew it, there was a needle in his arm. He quickly moved away, but whatever was in the needle had already been injected into his system. The needle dropped onto the roof of the building, and before he could figure out what the substance was, he began to feel dizzy and his eyes lost focus.  


_Sedatives,_ he realized as he blacked out, _lots of them._


	2. Timothy

The transmission caught Timothy off-guard. Apparently, they’d lost all contact with Dick, and since he was the closest to his last known location, he was supposed to find him. What surprised him the most was the distance between him and Nightwing. He’d been quite a few miles away, but he was still the closest. Last he knew, Nightwing had been just out of his sight.  


It took him a few minutes to get there because of the distance. There wasn’t anything suspicious about the scene, but Nightwing was supposed to be around here, so he began to search.  


Timothy didn’t like having to run around scouring the area. He preferred to use technology to find people or evidence, but he would just have to tolerate this. He just had to find Dick and get back to crime fighting, and then the night would be normal again. So he searched the area as quickly as he could. There was nothing that even implied that Richard had gotten himself in trouble.  


“Hey, Oracle. I can’t find Nightwing in the area,” Timothy stated, “I’m going to continue to expand my search if that’s okay. Have you found anything yet?”  


“No, there’s no sign of him,” Barbara replied, “it seems like something happened to block all of the trackers on him, including the one Robin put on him earlier.”  


“Okay,” he said. But he wasn’t feeling okay. What if Richard had been kidnapped? What if he was bleeding out somewhere? Or worse, what if he was dead? Timothy tried not to think about it. He just had to find Richard and everything would be fine. It would all be normal. Richard had disappeared before.  


But there was something that worried him about the situation. It felt weird. He tried to ignore the eerie feeling, but he kept catching himself glancing over his shoulder and checking every area someone could hide in. He had to find Richard, anyway, and he could be hidden anywhere.  


The first thing Timothy found that could be a hint was a syringe accompanied by drop of blood. All this searching, and all he found was this.  


_A lot of help you are, Tim,_ he thought to himself. He reported his lack of findings to Barbara, who seemed less than pleased about her boyfriend’s disappearance. She and Richard had been in an on-off relationship for a few years now, and it wasn’t surprising that she was worried about him. Timothy collected the evidence. It most likely wouldn’t be very helpful, but it might belong to whoever caught Richard. If he was kidnapped.  


Despite his best efforts, Timothy couldn’t find anything else, so he returned to the cave to DNA test the blood and see if he could find out who the syringe might belong to. The blood definitely belonged to Richard, and it was filled with a substance that seemed to work like sedatives. The syringe had a small drop of sedatives left in it, but he couldn’t tell who it belonged to. This only really confirmed his guess - Richard had been kidnapped...again.


	3. Jason

Tim blamed himself. They all knew he did. They all seemed to blame themselves for everything. Richard was gone. How were they supposed to find him? They’d been searching for days with nothing but dead ends. 

_Why do I live with these idiots?_ Jason wondered as he noticed all the exhausted faces around the room. It was obvious they hadn’t slept since Richard disappeared. Tim was drinking his seventh cup of expresso, which wouldn’t have been surprising if it wasn’t eight in the morning. Damian was swinging his sword around aimlessly, practicing his moves, probably imagining murdering whoever abducted Dick. Barbara hadn’t shown up for a while, so she was probably working on the case at home. Jason remembered overhearing a conversation about her being grounded or something. Steph and Cass were out on a mission, so they didn’t even know that Dick was missing. They should be back the next day. Jason wouldn’t admit it, but like his family, he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. 

Despite his worries, he still found amusement throughout the days. His favorite part was when sleep-deprived Bruce tripped up the stairs. How does anyone trip up the stairs? Jason knew all too well how to trip up the stairs. Maybe you’ve had a little too much to drink and you end up falling face-first into a stair, or you’re rushing too fast and your foot gets caught on the edge of the stairs. Or maybe, Replacement and Demon Brat team up against you and push you up the stairs. It was always fun to retaliate later and watch as someone fell down or up the stairs. It had kind of become a game. 

This was different. This time, no one was rushing. No one was drunk. No one was pushed. Bruce just...tripped. He caught the railing and steadied himself easily, but he’d still obviously stumbled. Jason suspected that he hadn’t been getting sleep even before Dick went missing. 

_People in this family don’t know how to take care of themselves, do they?_ Jason wondered. 

His family members were all doing what they could to find Dick. Tim did his computer thing with Babs helping. Damian checked the area the where Dick was last known to be in over and over again. Bruce casually brought it up to the citizens, asking if they’d seen Richard. So what the heck was he supposed to do? 

_If I could just find whoever did this, maybe things will get better,_ Jason thought, _we would be able to find him easily from there. But who took him?_

It’s not like Jason would be able to find him. After all, his family was working on it. They could find Dick without his help. 

They didn’t need him.


	4. Damian

Grayson had been missing for quite a while. Everyone was worried. He was not worried at all. Grayson could take care of himself. People were just overreacting. Grayson would be okay. Wherever he was, he was perfectly fine... Right?  


Damian swung the sword faster in agitation. Grayson would be fine. He wasn’t worried. He was not worried about Grayson. Nothing was wrong... maybe he should check the area where Grayson was last seen again. He dropped the sword carelessly, letting it clatter to the floor. The sound of it hitting the ground didn’t even seem to bother Drake, who was focused with working on the Bat-computer, probably looking for Grayson.  


Damian left his sword on the ground as he raced out of the bat-cave and made his way to where Grayson was last known to be. Grayson was an amazing fighter. There was no way that he had simply disappeared. He had to be around here somewhere. Damian began searching the area; he scoured it to make sure there was absolutely no sign of Grayson. When he couldn’t find anything close by, he expanded his search around the area, knowing he probably wouldn’t find anything useful.  


_This is why we only go out in the middle of the night,_ Damian thought as a particularly annoying person wouldn’t let him leave. They were too famous in Gotham - the family that owned half the city. It took him a moment to find the perfect time to slip into the nearest alleyway, making sure that the person had lost sight of him. He’d only been searching for a moment before he heard a noise at the entrance to the alleyway he was in.  


_This better not be a gang,_ he thought with irritation, _or another one of those people who seem to love taking time out of their day to bother me._  


When Damian turned to look, all he noticed was a small black kitten with blue eyes. It had several white patches of fur - a white underbelly, the tail tip, the paws, the tips of its ears, and a unique diamond shape on its forehead. It had central heterochromia in one eye, making it appear bluer than the other.  


“Hello,” he greeted the cat. The cat stared at him without a response. “Aren’t you a unique kitty? Do you have an owner?”  


Damian walked over and crouched down next to it, reaching his hand out to pet it. He observed the lack of a collar. If it was a stray, then it really knew how to take care of itself. He hadn’t found any stray as nicely kept.  


_It must have an owner,_ Damian concluded.  


Randomly, the cat hissed and scratched his hand. He immediately yanked his hand away. Not that the scratch hurt him, but that it shocked him. Animals always seemed to love him, they never hated him, unless they were trained to hate him.  


“I guess you don’t want to be petted,” Damian assumed. “Can you at least let me help you find your owner?”  


The cat looked up at him. Its eyes seemed to stare right through him, as if it knew his every intent. Rushed footsteps sounded as someone rounded the corner.  


“Star!” she exclaimed. Damian and the cat both looked up to face her. She was wearing a black cloak that ended slightly above the ground, and a brown dress that went down to just above her knees. The dress was old and torn, and her long black hair was dirty and unkept. She stared at him for a moment with her emerald green eyes.  


“S-sorry,” she stammered, seeming a little flustered. Her voice was soft and quiet, and she stared at the ground as she spoke.  


“Is this your cat?” Damian wondered.  


“Y-yes. I’ve been taking care of him,” she answered. “Did he scratch you?”  


“Yes,” Damian replied, “but it doesn’t hurt.”  


“Sorry about him,” she apologized again. “He doesn’t like strangers.”  


“It’s fine. Some animals just don’t like people,” Damian stated. “It’s unusual for an animal to scratch me.”  


“He really hates people,” she responded. “Come here, Star!”  


Star jumped into her outstretched arms and climbed up onto her shoulder before positioning himself to be able to glare at Damian. Damian stood up. He was significantly taller than the girl, and she shied away as he stood up.  


“Sorry to bother you,” she apologized a third time. “I’ll get out of your way now.”  


“Wait,” Damian called as she turned to leave, unsure why, “what’s you name?”  


“I-Irene,” the girl stammered as she looked at the ground again. “What’s yours?”  


“Damian,” he answered, slightly surprised that she didn’t know who he was. She must not know who the Waynes are, and he could use that to his advantage.  


“Have you seen a man taller than me with blue eyes and black hair?”  


“N-no, sorry,” she replied, not looking up at him. Star meowed, as if it wanted to add to the conversation. “I can help you look for him.”  


“That would be helpful,” he stated. Remembering his family’s strange teachings he added ‘thank you’.  


“It’s not like I have anything better to do,” Irene responded. “Let’s go see if we can find him, Star.”  


Irene petted the cat as she walked away with a bright smile on her face as she talked to her cat. Damian stared for a moment, then got back to searching for Grayson. He had to be somewhere in Gotham. It occurred to him that he hadn’t given the girl a way to communicate with him if she found Richard. After a few hours of searching the city, he had to stop in order to return to the cave to prepare for patrol.


	5. Barbara

Barbara was looking over the case when she got a message from Tim. Quickly, she checked to see what it read. 

**Hey, Babs. There are more cases of disappearances, and I noticed a few things about them that may connect them with Dick’s disappearance. I’ll send you a link to them. Tell me if you notice anything.**

Shortly after she received the message, Tim sent another one with the links to the other cases. After looking over them, she noticed quite a few things in common between the disappearances. 

All of the people had dark hair and bright eyes. Most of them were male, and they often had type A blood. All of the disappearances happened in the night, and most of he people were pretty important to Gotham. She sent Tim her findings, and soon got a text back. 

**That’s exactly what I was thinking! They also were people who have traveled to other cities in the past, and all of them have attended one of Bruce’s galas at some point.**

Barbara read the message and replied almost immediately. 

**That means that your whole family, excluding Cass and Jason, are potential victims.**

It didn’t take long for Tim to text back. 

**You’re right! Crap! Damian is out there looking for Richard alone right now!**

Barbara informed him that Damian was probably okay. All the disappearances occurred during the night, anyway. Damian should be fine in broad daylight. 

Barbara knew that Tim would still worry. For someone who acted like he hated Damian, Tim sure cared a lot. Although it was getting late, she doubted that Damian would just let himself get kidnapped. He was more than capable of self-defense, and he was willing to kill someone if he had to. Barbara returned to working on the case, but she wasn’t very lucky. Nothing came up. 

_Where are you, Richard?_ She wondered while she stared at the screen as if it would help, but it didn’t. Dick was still missing, and she couldn’t find him. 

Maybe he wouldn’t have disappeared if she had organized the patrol better. Maybe if she’d kept better track of him. Maybe if she’d made it so that people were closer to him... but she didn’t, and now Dick was gone. It was all her fault. If she had done better. If she had never gotten paralyzed and was still able to fight, maybe Dick would still be here. 

_Snap out of it, Barbara!_ Barbara fussed at herself, _right now, you just need to focus on finding Richard. You can blame yourself some other day._

Her focus was stolen from her thoughts as she received a questionable text from Tim. 

**Fkebidbshkvw**

This definitely concerned Barbara. Someone might’ve snuck into the cave. 

**Is something wrong?**

**No. Demon Spawn just scared me. He’s back now.**

**Did you need me for something?**

**Yeah, but Demon Spawn made me forget. It wasn’t too important. I’ll remember it later.**

Barbara set her phone aside, wondering if Tim had gotten any sleep he past few nights, and assuming not. He wouldn’t just forget something randomly. Barbara continued to work on the case, but she wasn’t getting anywhere. She worked on the other disappearances as well. A few of them did lead places, so she informed Tim about them. He also remembered what he needed to say eventually. 

They were able to locate a few of the missing people, so on patrol that night the bats all went searching for people in several different spots around the city. As a precaution, people were placed in pairs this time. They didn’t need a repeat of Richard’s disappearance. 

The pairs were Tim and Jason, Bruce and Damian, and Steph and Cass. Out of all of them, Steph and Cass were the least likely to have something happen to them. Neither of them fit the complete description of people who have disappeared, but that was just based on assumptions that they had made. Cass had black eyes, and Steph had light hair. The other two pairs were more likely to have problems. With their black hair and light eyes, they were definitely potential victims. There wasn’t anything to worry about. They just had to stick together, and then they would be fine. No one related to these cases had been abducted in pairs, so they should be perfectly fine. Besides, they were amazing fighters. 

_Richard was good at fighting._

Barbara ignored the thought and focused on patrol. She wasn’t going to let another important person disappear from her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I’ve had this chapter for a while, and I guess I forgot to post it. Hope you enjoyed.


	6. Bruce

Bruce was patrolling with Damian. From what he’d heard, Barbara and Tim had made a list of places where they suspected that people would be held hostage. Some of them were empty, but most were not. At the first place they searched, there was a single hostage left. The person was pretty roughed up, but there was no one guarding him. They got him out of there and to a hospital with ease. Most of the other hostages they found were left in a similar state - beaten, damaged, broken - and of them were without a scratch. It concerned Bruce just to think about it. What had the kidnappers done to his oldest? If those monsters had done anything, they just might end up in the hospital with worse wounds than those that they’d inflicted.

They were doing pretty well on patrol, and they managed to accomplish a lot that night. Although they explored all of the locations and dealt with the crimes that occurred, they didn’t find Richard. Bruce was extremely concerned about him. Who knew what was happening to Dick?

Bruce was driving his way back to the cave with Damian. The kid stayed oddly silent. He hadn’t made any witty remarks the whole night.

“Is something on your mind?” he asked Damian.

“What I think is none of your business, Father.”

Bruce felt a little stung by his son’s words, but he didn’t expect a different response from Damian. He assumed that whatever was bothering Damian wasn’t that important if Damian decided that it wasn’t worth telling him. That, or it was very important. 

Tim and Jason were already on their way back to the cave, and Steph and Cass were waiting for everyone. The night had been very eventful, and Bruce wanted nothing other than to get some rest. Well, he would prefer to find Dick, but none of them had had any luck with finding him. They didn’t even have a clue who kidnapped him. He clung to the hope that someone who they’d saved that night would remember who abducted them. He was definitely worried about what might have happened to Richard. 

_I swear, when I find whoever did these things..._ he sighed as he cut his own thoughts off and repeated to himself what he so often had told Damian. _Justice, not vengeance. Justice, not vengeance._

Bruce sighed again as they parked in the Bat-cave. It really had been a long few days, and they all needed a good rest, especially a few of them who always failed to sleep.

When they entered the Bat-cave, Steph was in the middle of a conversation with Cass. They stopped talking and looked over. 

“Hi, Bruce!” Stephanie greeted.

“Hello, girls,” he replied.

“This somehow managed to get past our security,” Stephanie stated as she gestured towards a cat that was sitting in the middle of the floor.

“This just proves how much B’s security sucks,” Jason remarked as he entered the cave with Tim.

“Isn’t it adorable?” Stephanie asked. Bruce glanced at the animal. They didn’t need another pet in the house, but Damian was right next to him, so there wasn’t a way to stop him from noticing it this time.

“Hello, Star,” Damian greeted as he walked over to the cat.

“And Demon Spawn, the animal enthusiast has already found and named his next target,” Jason narrated.

“My name isn’t Demon Spawn!” Damian objected, “nor are the animals my ‘targets’. Also, I did not name Star.”

“Well, then who did?” Tim quizzed.

“His owner,” Damian replied matter-of-factly. “Speaking of her... Star, do you know where Irene is?”

The cat meowed and flicked his tail in response as Damian walked over and crouched down next to the cat.

“That’s odd,” Damian commented, “he says that he does not know where she went.”

“Who’s Irene?” Steph inquired.

“Irene is someone whom I happened to meet yesterday, and she also happens to be the one who takes care of Star,” as Damian finished, he gestured at the cat.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jason seemed underwhelmed. “What’s this cat doing here anyway?”

“How about you ask him yourself why he’s here?” Damian responded.

“Last I knew, cats can’t talk,” Jason retorted.

“Yes they can,” Damian argued. “They talk with their body language.”

“And how are you supposed to understand their body language?” Jason’s question could have been sincere, if not for the mocking tone. “They’re cats.”

“You stop being an idiot,” Damian said simply.

“And I’m sure the idiot you are can clearly understand this ‘body language’,” Jason replied as he held up his middle finger towards Damian.

“Jason,” Bruce spoke, his voice a warning.

“Sorry, Demon Spawn,” Jason mumbled. Bruce didn’t bother to push it any further; It would probably just make them fight worse later, and he was too tired to deal with their meaningless bickering right now, although he did glare at Jason.

“How did the cat get in the cave anyway?” Bruce wondered.

“We don’t know,” Stephanie responded. “He was here when we got back.”

“Do you think there’s some kind of problem with the security?” Barbara’s voice sounded over the coms.

“Maybe,” Tim replied, “I’ll go check the system.”

“Okay. I’ll see if I can do anything to help from here,” Barbara sounded like she really wished that she could be here at the moment, but she was grounded right now, so she couldn’t leave her house. She’d snuck out about a week ago to help Richard and Tim with a hard case that they were working on, so Jim was a bit irritated with her. Of course, she still tried to be as involved with their activities as possible.

Tim left to go run a check on the security. Cass exited the cave, probably heading to her room. Steph also departed because it was pretty late and she was going to head home to get some rest. That left Jason, Bruce, and Damian in the same room. 

“You aren’t going to let him keep the cat, are you?” Jason wondered. Bruce couldn’t reply before Damian did.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Todd. Star has an owner.”

“Well, the cat obviously doesn’t know where she is,” Jason pointed out.

“Then I guess I shall have to take care of it until we find where Irene is,” Damian replied.  
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have another animal in the house, but only as long as we find his owner and return him, understood?” Bruce responded.

Damian nodded without looking towards Bruce; He was too busy keeping an eye on Star to pay much attention to the conversation. It was pretty obvious that he didn’t care what they were talking about as long as he could keep Star for a while. 

“Like you’d notice another animal,” Jason said. Without waiting for a reply, Jason continued. “Hey, Replacement’s Replacement. Are really going to try and take care of that cat? He doesn’t seem to like you very much.”

As if on cue, Star’s paw jabbed forward, slicing right through some of the skin on Damian’s hand. That only seemed to amuse Jason. Bruce walked over to Damian.

“Let’s get that cut treated,” it was more of a command than a suggestion.

“I am fine,” Damian objected. “It is only a small cut.”

“Damian, that scratch isn’t even that small,” Bruce pointed out. “Come with me and we’ll get it treated. We don’t want it to become infected.”

“Fine,” Damian’s tone was full of irritation, “but only because you’ll pester me nonstop if I don’t let you bandage it.”

Damian stood up and exited the cave with Bruce, letting Jason be the only one watching the cat.

“Why doesn’t the cat like you?” Bruce questioned, not really expecting Damian to answer. “It’s unusual for an animal to harm you.”

“Tt.”


	7. Cassandra

Cassandra got up before the sun had risen. Everyone looked really tired, as if they still hadn’t slept. No one bothered to talk. They just returned to the routine that they’d formed over the past few days, moving around sluggishly as if they were zombies. She didn’t mind the quiet, and she was used to the tense atmosphere, but that didn’t change the fact that things were different without Richard. 

When Richard was around, the atmosphere was lighter. He would run around the room, doing flips or other tricks in order to avoid whichever brother was chasing him. People had less true arguments, and in their place were playful little skirmishes. Occasionally, when the room was too quiet, he would break the silence with one of his lame jokes. And most of the time, there was his bright, cheery smile that never seemed to fade. 

You never really realize how much someone or something truly means to you until they’re gone. And now Richard was gone. They could only cling to the hope that they could find him, but that small hope didn’t really comfort them.

After everyone was done with breakfast, - not many of them actually ate anything - they all dispersed to various tasks. Tim went to Barbara’s house and try to find out more possible locations. Damian exited the house to meet up with Stephanie and look around for some kind of clue as to where Richard was - Bruce had forced him to go with someone. Bruce had work to do today. Alfred, of course, was taking care of the manor and all the pets that they had currently. Jason left to do... something. It looked like something was bothering him. Curiosity and concern caused her to follow Jason out of the house. She may have been invading his privacy, but he looked like he needed someone to talk to. 

It only took Jason a few minutes to get to his destination with Cassandra close behind. They were on the top of a building which She knew was one of many spots where Jason would go to calm down. He walk to the edge of the roof and sat with his legs dangling over the edge.

“Jason?” Cassandra said. From his startled expression, he didn’t notice that she had been following him.

“Do you need something?” Jason asked with his normal irritated tone.

“Something bothering you,” she stated. 

“I’m fine,” Jason responded.

“No,” Cassandra objected.

“I am fine,” Jason insisted, “I just need some air. Shouldn’t you be helping the others find Dick?”

“They will find. You’re not okay.”

“I’ve already told you, I’m fine.”

“No.”

Jason sighed. Cass knew that he wasn’t doing okay, despite the fact that he had tried to hide his emotions from the family. There was no purpose in denying it now that someone had pointed it out.

“Talk?” Cassandra questioned.

“I guess,” Jason sounded unsure.

Cassandra nodded and sat down next to him. Jason hesitated before speaking again.

“I just... don’t really feel like I help this family,” Jason finally said, “I feel like I only get in the way.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m an asshole.”

“No, why do you feel?” Cassandra looked Jason in the eyes. She was aware that she wasn’t good at talking, but her family could understand her, even if they had trouble sometimes. She was getting better at talking. 

“Oh,” Jason said, “I don’t do much in a house that’s full of geniuses. Everyone else is always able to do something to contribute, whether it’s solving a case or creating some kind of invention. They can get out of any situation. They’re all just so good at everything.”

“You are good.”

“No, I’m not. Not compared to you guys.”

“You are.”

“How?” Jason asked as he looked up at her.

“You may not be the most skilled fighter here, but you help. You help us fight crime, and you save people, too. You’re not afraid to kill if it is needed. You may not be as smart as Tim or Barbara, but you still pick up on things that others wouldn’t notice. You’re very caring.”

Cassandra was interrupted by Jason’s laughter.

“What makes you think that I’m caring?” he wondered.

“You’ve been helping Alfred.”

“Y-yeah...” Jason seemed a bit embarrassed to admit it, but he couldn’t deny it now that Cassandra had pointed it out.

“Tim goes to you for comfort after his nightmares.”

“Sometimes it’s a bit unsettling how many things you pick up on.”

“Know. Others told me,” Cassandra replied.

“Thanks for talking,” Jason said awkwardly, “or signing.”

‘You’re welcome. We should find Richard now.’ Cassandra could still tell that Jason wasn’t feeling completely like himself, but that would change as soon as they found Richard.

And they _would_ find Richard.


	8. Alfred

Alfred entered the kitchen to prepare the food for the pets. He had already made Tim an espresso earlier, and he had also convinced Bruce to eat breakfast. After he had placed the food in the bowls, Alfred watched as all the animals came running.  
  
There were animals of all kinds here, most of which only stayed for a few weeks tops, but there were a few that had been here for ages. Damian wasn’t going to let anyone take Titus, Ace, Alfred Pennyworth the cat, Bat-cow, or Goliath away from him, and everyone knew better than to try and convince him to let them go. Thankfully, Alfred only had to feed the permanent pets. Damian always took care of the rest of them.

Alfred exited the manor and made his way to where the other pets were kept. Damian had claimed an area of land just within the manor’s boundaries for the sole purpose of keeping his pets. It was impressive how quickly it had turned from a patch of grass into some kind of zoo that was mostly underground. It didn’t take long to get to where Goliath was and feed him, and as Alfred was leaving the zoo, he stopped by Bat-cow’s area to feed her as well. 

When he entered the manor, he noticed that there wasn’t a single person in the house. Normally there was at least one hyper teenager running around and making a mess, but they all were occupied with their own things these days. He hadn’t had much cleaning to do, so he was able to focus more on other things. Jason had been helping out, too. These days, Alfred could actually rest for a moment.

It felt good to be able to rest, - they all knew he needed it and had definitely earned it - but that didn’t make it feel any less weird. He easily found things to occupy himself with because there were always plenty of chores that he never quite got around to. While he was in the middle of reorganizing a few shelves that had been messed up and never quite fixed, Tim came rushing past the room.

“Master Tim,” he addressed the teenager, “what has you in such a hurry?”

Tim stopped running immediately, but still seemed to want to leave.

“Jay and Cass found something that might have to do with Richard’s disappearance. I’m going to check it out,” he explained in a hurry.

“Good luck, Master Tim,” Alfred replied. It was pleasing that they had found something that could be a clue. There was still the possibility that it could be another dead end.

“Thanks, Alfred,” Tim responded, “I’ve gotta go now, bye!”

“Goodbye, Master Tim.”

Tim was already long gone, having been ready to chase after whatever leads they found for quite a while. Alfred just got back to cleaning, silently hoping that this would be what allowed them to locate Dick. He sighed as he finished organizing. He should be used to these kinds of things, but he wasn’t getting any younger, and all the stress he felt on a daily basis made him feel a lot older than 70. He’d been dealing with these kinds of shenanigans for several decades now, and it didn’t help that the family kept growing and growing. 

Once he was done with reorganization, he noticed a black and white cat staring straight towards him. He couldn’t help but feel as if it were staring right through him, as if could see something standing behind him. It seemed like the cat saw him as it jumped in surprise, hissed, and then ran away.

“What an odd cat,” he said to no one in particular. Then he turned his attention back to his work and resumed cleaning, following the pattern that he found himself stuck in almost every day.


	9. Stephanie

Stephanie was almost prepared for patrol when Jason entered the cave, Cassandra close behind him. They both were a little out of breath, and Stephanie assumed that they must’ve run all the way to the cave.

“Tim!” Jason called in between breaths.

“What happened?” Tim inquired. He was about to continue and probably ask ten billion questions, but Jason cut him off.

“We got some info that might help us find Richard,” Jason explained.

“Really?” Tim immediately somehow seemed more interested in the conversation than he was formerly.

“Yeah,” Jason confirmed.

“Well, what is it?” Tim pressed.

“Places,” Cassandra stated as she held out a paper.

“Yeah, what she said. We got a bit of info from my friends about where he might be, so we’re going to check them out instead of going on patrol. I’m sure that you can figure out most places where he isn’t, so go ahead and knock yourself out.”

“Okay,” Tim replied, taking the paper that Cassandra offered him. Stephanie could tell that it was a list of some kind. She didn’t bother asking about the list. Instead, she walked over to the three of them.

“Does this mean I’ll be paired up with Tim for patrol?” Stephanie wondered.

“I guess,” Jason answered, “if Barbara insists on sending us out in pairs again. Hopefully no crazy kid jumps off roofs today.” 

“Okay,” Stephanie replied, “she probably will. What do you-“

“As if we can’t protect ourselves from being kidnapped,” Jason said, “I’m pretty sure it won’t help much even if we’re together.”

“No one’s been abducted in pairs,” Tim reasoned.

“Yet,” Jason argued, “we’ll be the first.”

“Did you find anything else out about the disappearances?” Tim questioned, ignoring Jason’s pessimism. 

“We did find a spot that may have been where someone may have been abducted-“

“Where?” Tim cut Jason off.

Jason was barely done specifying the location when Tim rushed out of the cave.

“Rude,” Jason commented before leaving, most likely to either follow Tim or get ready for patrol. Stephanie focused on getting ready for patrol. Tonight was going to be long, with all the locations that Barbara had found and all the crimes that had to be stopped. Stephanie finished getting ready and waited in the cave. This wouldn’t take that long.  


They could find Richard...probably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short note: This series will be on a short Hiatus before I repeat the POV of different people. Also, for anyone who’d already read this series, I added a chapter about Barbara I had forgotten to post previously.
> 
> I’ll be back soon! :D


	10. Richard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I’m back! Sorry if anyone missed me. I hope you enjoy! :)

Richard woke up in an unfamiliar environment. The last thing that he could remember was the rooftop rushing towards him as he had been sedated. That must mean that he had been abducted.  


_How long was I out?_ he wondered as he stood. Nothing was restraining him from moving around the room. He noticed a newspaper on the floor. As if to answer his question, it was marked with a date from two days after that night.  


_The others must be worried,_ he thought as he continued to observe his surroundings. There was a bed in the corner of the room, and the chair that he’d been sitting in was a regular old kitchen chair. It was very dark in the room, and there were no windows, however, there was a lamp. He didn’t bother turning it on, for that might alert his captors that he was conscious. The room was quite small, and there wasn’t much in it, just a bed with a nightstand next to it, the lamp on top of the empty nightstand, and the chair.  


He did still have a few of his gadgets, so it seemed like the people missed a few of the pockets in his costume. That, or they decided those gadgets wouldn’t help him. If they did choose to leave them there, then that might be the mistake that they make allowing him to escape, but none of the gadgets appeared useful at the moment.  


The sound of a hidden door opening startled Richard out of his thoughts. Someone entered the room.   


“I know you’re up,” the person stated.  


When he looked over to where the noise originated from, he noticed the person that had sedated him before.  


“Did you rest well?” She asked.  


“I guess,” Richard answered . He couldn’t quite read her motives or feelings, which was unusual for him, considering how great this job had made him at psychology.  


“Good,” she replied as she walked over towards him. It didn’t seem like she was about to harm him, but that didn’t stop him from being suspicious of her.  


“Why am I here?” he inquired, a little more blunt than normal.  


“Because I brought you here,” she responded simply.  


“Why did you bring me here?” Richard interrogated.  


“That is information that I cannot give to you at the moment.”  


“Why not?”  


“None of your business,” the person retorted. 

“Follow me.”  


“Why?” Richard questioned, a million possibilities running through his mind.  


“Just come,” the person commanded.  


Richard was about to protest when the person grabbed his wrist and began to drag him out of the room. It would’ve been easy just to twist his hand out of her grip, but he decided against it. After all, he didn’t have an escape plan worth trying. Instead of escaping right then and there, Richard began to formulate a plan, taking mental notes on everything he deemed to be important.  


It didn’t take long for them to reach a room that was even more empty than the last. There was nothing in the room except for a small chair and a gray table. The room itself was painted black, except for the ceiling that was blood red.  


“Stay here,” the person instructed. “Sit down if you wish.”  


“Okay,” Richard responded, “thanks for the hospitality?”  


The person didn’t even acknowledge that he had actually spoken. They just left him in the room. Standing there. Alone.  


He would try to escape now but that might fail and just put them on high alert. He wanted to escape, sure, and as soon as possible, too, but that meant actually knowing where an exit was.  


_How did I manage to get myself in such a predicament?_ He wondered as he glanced around the room. There was nothing to indicate that he was even being watched, but he heard the marching of footsteps. Perfect sync, perfect rhythm. They just walked right on past his door. There must’ve been guards of some kind, at least four of them.  


_Great,_ he thought, _guards are just great._  


How was he supposed to get away with guards around? It would be a lot easier to escape if he knew his surroundings.  


_Guess that’s the first step, isn’t it?_  


He walked over to the door, checking to make sure that the hinges were oiled enough not to squeak, and finding that the door wasn’t even locked. It was like they wanted him to escape.  


Still, there was no harm in trying.


	11. Timothy

Timothy leaped from rooftop to rooftop, barely keeping pace with Stephanie, who seemed irritated with his occasional stumbling. He hadn’t slept for days, and it wasn’t helping that they weren’t getting anywhere in the search for Richard. Also, he’d run out of expresso that evening, so he hadn’t had any before patrol.

Steph was doing almost everything on her own, with an occasional bit of help from Timothy. He just couldn’t keep up with the fast pace of patrol tonight, not after working so hard for the past few days. Luckily, it wasn’t a busy night. For some reason, criminals had decided to take a break. They hadn’t been causing much trouble lately, which was extremely suspicious for Gotham City.

“What is up with you tonight?” Stephanie asked. “Don’t tell me that you still haven’t gotten enough sleep!”

Timothy paused for a moment before justifying himself. “It’s hard to get sleep when you’re worried.”

“You need sleep,” Stephanie insisted.

“It’s fine; I can still fight.”

“Tim-”

“I said it’s fine!” Timothy snapped.

“Well someone’s moody.”

“I’m not moody.”

“I’m taking you back home whether you like it or not,” Stephanie stated.

“Steph-”

“ _Spoiler_ to Oracle. Red Robin and I are heading back early.”

“Okay,” Barbara replied almost immediately, “I’ll tell the others.”

“Come on; you don’t have a choice.”

“But-”

Barely a moment passed before Timothy found himself back in the cave, having been dragged the whole way there by Steph.

“Hey, Alfred,” Steph greeted as she pushed Timothy into the manor, “can you make sure Timbers here gets some sleep, please?”

“Yes, Miss Brown.”

“Thanks, Alfred!” Stephanie replied.

Timothy found himself stuck in his room. There was no way he could leave with Alfred expecting him to sleep. Maybe he could get on his computer...it wasn’t worth it. Alfred would catch him and take his stuff for the night.

——

Tim jumped from roof to roof, barely keeping pace with the enemy. He’d been searching so hard for the past few days, and now he was right on their tail. If only he were a little faster.

Still, he tried his best to keep up, only pausing to judge one particularly large jump before continuing. He wasn’t going to let them get away with this, not after what they did with Richard. But they were much faster than him, and he couldn’t keep pace.

He tried to let his determined little mind come up with some plan that could help him, but for once in his life, his mind was blank.

_Come on, Tim, think!_

His irritation didn’t help him come up with a plan. All it did in the end was cause all of his worries, frustrations, and thoughts of self-doubt to return, thus disturbing his focus further. He couldn’t help but give in to the self-hate, accepting that he was a horrible piece of a human being.

The person suddenly stopped and turned around, startling him out of his head. He couldn’t tell who the person was because of the dark of the night and cloak they wore.

“What did you do to Nightwing?” Time questioned, yelling despite the silence of the night. A sudden burst of wind howled, seeming to try and drown out his voice.

“I did what I did,” the person responded, their voice quiet and hollow. “You’re Red Robin. You should’ve been able to figure it out.”

“I-”

Tim cut off as the person swung their sword at him. He dodged, but the person stepped forward, easily forcing him back. They did a few tricks, most of which he easily avoided on pure instinct, some of which that required more thought. It got to the point where he, again, wasn’t quick enough, and he gained a wound in his side because of it. Luckily, it wasn’t a deep cut, and it didn’t hit any of his organs, having just cut around the bottom of his rib cage.

“I thought you were supposed to be a challenge to fight,” the person remarked, not helping his self-confidence. Timothy dodged her next attack with ease, not even having to think about it.

Before Timothy could notice what was happening, the blade had already whipped forward and stabbed him in the abdomen. He would’ve blocked it if he had his staff. He would’ve dodged it if his head hadn’t been so fuzzy.

“Tim!” he heard someone call in the distance as the world began to grow dark. He looked over to see Red Hood rushing over to him. “Tim, wake up!”

_What?_ Timothy wondered, _but I’m not asleep..._

——

Timothy woke to Jason shaking him. By the brightness in the room, he could tell that it was morning.

“Hey,” Jason greeted, the expression of concern that was on his face a moment ago suddenly replaced with irritation. “You _could_ have woken up sooner. I’ve been yelling at you for the past five minutes trying to wake you up.”

“No wonder my ears hurt.”

Jason glared at him without a response.

“What time is it?” Timothy asked.

“Almost twelve o’clock,” answered Jason.

“What?” Timothy said, jumping out of bed. “I’ve got to get ready! I had a presentation today, and I’m going to be late- what about that meeting? I’m so screwed!”

“Relax, Tim. Alfred’s handling it. Be glad you get to go to school.”

“Right. Sorry. You wouldn’t do much if you went to school, anyway.”

“Sure I would! They would let me into the library without question, and I’d finally be able to read something!”

“We have a library-“

“I’ve read it all.”

“We can set it up so you can read books on your phone.”

Jason looked at him, his expression horrified.

“How could you even suggest that I give up books and resort to the desperate measure of _e-books?_ ” he questioned, obviously disgusted.

“Sorry,” Timothy responded, “didn’t know you’d take so much offense.”

“Forget about it,” Jason replied. “Come on; You still haven’t eaten.”

“I’ll be down in a bit, okay?”

“Whatever.”

A few moment later, Timothy arrived at the table where Jason was waiting patiently for him. From what Timothy could see, everyone else was out and about doing something useful, and he had slept late. He was always left behind the others, wasn’t he? There was already an expresso waiting for him on the table, accompanied by the breakfast that Alfred made for him.

“You feeling any better?” Jason asked.

“A little. Still a bit shaken up.” Timothy sat down at the table across from Jason and took a sip of expresso. It was, of course, just the way he liked it. He didn’t expect any less from Alfred.

“So what was it about?” Jason questioned.

“What?”

“The nightmare.”

“Oh, that,” Timothy paused, taking another sip of expresso. “It was just about Richard’s disappearance. Nothing much.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “Whatever you say. Do you like the food?”

“Yeah,” Timothy replied, “it’s normal. Why do you care?”

“I wanted to know if it tastes okay.”

“Okay..?” Timothy inquired. “Why?”

“Because I made it.”

Timothy nearly choked on the food.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I though Alfred made it. I didn’t even-”

“Hey, don’t apologize! It’s good that you though Alfred made it. That means I did a really good job.”

“Yeah.”

Timothy stared at the plate, wondering how many other details he had missed. He was skipping over a lot of them lately.

Maybe that’s why they couldn’t find Richard.


	12. Jason

Jason spent most of the day hanging around the manor. He helped Alfred out with cleaning the manor, which became extremely boring after a while, and when he grew bored, he stopped to look for Richard. 

He couldn’t look as directly as any of the others could, since he was legally dead and a wanted criminal as Hood, so he stuck to electronics, which often gave him trouble. Books were much easier to understand. Manual labor was much easier to do. 

At least it made more sense than calculus. 

Jason still struggled with all the craziness. It would be much simpler to use, well, _simpler_ technology, but for _some reason,_ , everyone in the house seemed to be a tech wizard _except_ him. 

Jason couldn’t help but mutter several expletives while figuring out how to work a new program Tim had added. How the hell did the rest of he family manage to get through all the chaos of an over-complicated computer? 

Jason eventually just stopped trying to bother with it. He didn’t want to get so frustrated that he destroyed Tim’s and Barbara’s tech; it would be a hassle to fix. 

Might as well risk being Hood. 

Once he had changed into Red Hood, he went to explore the streets of Gotham. Sure, it was midday, but that didn’t matter. Most of the people who hated him were awake later in the day, anyway. 

It was simple to just explore the city, looking for any sign of Nightwing. Nothing really happened for a long time, and he began to lose hope. 

It felt like forever of searching before he ran into a crime being committed. It angered him immediately to notice the man threatening a kid off the streets who obviously had nothing to offer. 

“Get away from the kid,” he demanded as he intervened. 

“What are you going-” the man cut off as soon as he saw that the person who had spoken was the Red Hood. His face blanched as he let the kid go. 

“Good choice,” Jason said. “I’d advise you stay away from kids in the future.” 

“Y-yes,” the person hurriedly agreed before running. 

“Are you okay?” Jason asked. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?” 

The kid shook her head. Her emerald green eyes were wide with fear. 

“Y-you’re the Red Hood, right..?” she asked hesitantly. 

“Yeah,” he confirmed. 

“Then have you seen someone who’s taller than this”-she indicated by holding her hand up to a certain height-“who has blue eyes and black hair?” 

Jason hesitated. She’d just described Richard in the most simple way possible, but there were several people like that. 

“I’ve seen several people who fit that description,” Jason answered. “Why do you ask?” 

“I-I’ve been trying to find him.” 

“What’s his name?” 

“I wasn’t told.” 

Jason paused. The girl seemed to take this as an invitation to speak again. 

“I’m also looking for my cat.” 

“What does your cat look like?” 

“He’s black with white markings. The most notable one is the star on his forehead. His name is Star.” 

Jason stood in shock for a moment. 

_That’s the cat that somehow managed to get into the Bat-cave,_ he realized immediately. 

“I think I can help you with that,” he stated. 

The girl’s eyes lit up. “R-really?” 

“Yeah,” said Jason. “Come with me.” 

So he found himself leading the girl through the city, to an area far enough away from most crimes that he felt comfortable leaving her in. 

“Stay here,” he told her. Much to his surprise, her eyes flashed golden. 

“Yes Sir,” she agreed robotically. 

He’d been caught off guard. He paused for a moment. Why had her eyes changed color? What did it mean? He resolved to research it later, maybe with Barbara’s or Tim’s help. 

For the time being, he was just going to get one of the many cats from the manor _out_ of it. They definitely didn’t need more, and it would be good for one to leave. 

When he entered the manor, Star must’ve known he was coming for him, because he was standing right at the entryway Jason had used (he’d entered through the Bat-cave). He hesitated. He couldn’t just take Star back immediately. 

“Hey, Brat!” Jason called into the manor. Moments later, Damian had appeared. 

“Tt. What do you want, Todd?” 

“Say goodbye to your cat.” 

“Todd!” 

Jason stood in confusion for a moment. In that brief second, Damian had scooped up Star from he ground. Jason realized Damian probably thought he meant to kill the cat. 

Everyone thought he wanted to kill. 

“Well,” Jason said, “curiosity killed the cat.” 

Damian paled slightly. 

“You’re not laying a single finger on Star,” he objected firmly. 

“Relax,” Jason replied, “I just found his owner.” 

Damian’s face lit up. 

“You did?” he asked, before seeming to realize what this meant. “So... you’re taking him back..?” 

Damian looked disappointed. ~~Jason wasn’t pleased with causing Damian sadness~~. 

“Would you rather me leave him here, sad and depressed without his owner?” 

“N-no!” Damian responded. “I’m coming with you.” 

“Tt. Fine,” Jason replied in a mocking tone. Damian glared at him. He smiled. 

Soon, they’d left the manor with Star, who insisted on simply walking next to them, obviously still not caring for Damian. Red Hood and Robin walked the streets of Gotham together in the daylight for one of the first times. It seemed like no time at all before they’d arrived where he’d told the girl to wait. 

“Star!” she exclaimed upon seeing him. The kid rushed over to them, stopping to lift Star into her arms. “You’ve got to stop running away like that,” she chided. The cat didn’t appear to care about her rebuke. “How did you find him?” She asked. 

“He showed up one day,” Jason answered. “We didn’t know where he’d come from.” 

“Star!” the girl fussed. “Don’t invade other people’s private property; it’s illegal!” 

Star glared at her as if to say that he didn’t care. She ignored him. 

“Thank you so, so much!” said the girl. 

“No problem,” Jason responded before turning to Damian. “We should get going now.” 

“Tt. Fine.” 

And so they left. 

At least the girl seemed happy. 

“What did you say her name was again?” Jason wondered. 

“Star’s owner?” 

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “Who else would I be asking about?” 

“Her name is Irene.” 

“Got it.” 

“Why do you care?” 

“I don’t really. It would just bother me forever if I didn’t know,” Jason answered. “One of those things.” 

“Tt.” 

They reentered the manor in silence, all conversation having cut off after that, for there was nothing left to say.


	13. Damian

Damian was sad to watch as Star left. At least he was back with his owner, but Damian couldn’t help but miss the fluffy little friend. Star had just begun to trust him, and it was heartbreaking for Damian to see him go before they even got to really know each other. 

Of course, that’s how he would feel every time a pet—or as he would say, friend—of his got taken away from him by any of his family members for any reason. He always acted as if the animal died, and could be found moping around the manor for days in the company of all his other animal friends. This time wasn’t much different, except hat he stopped moping and plunged into his work, scouring he city over and over again. 

It only made him more depressed sans any luck finding anything that could possibly be a clue. The search progressed just as it had, with them failing to find _anything_ , and this, of course, _infuriated_ Damian. 

Damian growled in frustration as he slammed his computer shut after having searched all day and found nothing. 

“Nothing again?” Drake asked, standing in the doorway. 

“What do you want, Drake?” Damian asked miserably. 

“To find Richard.” 

“Tt.” 

“It’s dinnertime if you want to join us.” 

“What if I don’t want to join you? Does it then become something other than dinnertime?” The questions flew from Damian’s mouth before he could realize just how much like Drake he sounded. 

Drake paused. “I’ll tell Alfred you’re not coming, then.” 

“Tt. Don’t bother.” 

Damian put his computer away before following Drake to the dining area, where the rest of the family was already waiting. 

They were all there today. 

Everyone except Grayson. 

They ate in silence, the depression filling the air as it soaked through every last one of them. Damian felt as though he could pluck the tension right out of the air. 

The dinner didn’t feel right. They had all lost all hope of happiness. 

Richard Grayson, their light, the glue that held the family together, the little bundle of hyperactive happiness, was gone. It almost felt as if he had died. 

The dinner was probably the strangest yet. Drake even ate without complaint. He was the first to finish, and forgetting all formalities, left the table right away. He only stopped to clean his plates. 

“I’m going to bed,” he announced. 

Everyone paused. They didn’t try to stop him. Drake needed to rest; they all did. 

It was just surprising that out of all of them, he was the one to admit it. 

Damian, being the way he is, found this confusing as he wondered if Drake had given up on finding Grayson. 

He wouldn’t mind the excuse to fight Drake. He was a little concerned about Drake’s sudden change in behavior, though. Even if Drake had given up on Grayson, he would find something else to do but sleep. 

Damian switched his attention back to finding Grayson. _Someone_ had to do something. Someone also had to hold he family together in Grayson’s absence, but he greatly preferred searching for Grayson over gluing the broken family back together. 

It wasn’t long until time for patrol. Gordon had to reorganize because of Drake’s absence, so Todd, Brown, and Cain formed a group. It was a recipe for disaster. 

Damian didn’t pay much attention to the chaos that happened over the coms. As long as he wasn’t addressed or mentioned, it didn’t matter to him. He didn’t care to hear about their petty shenanigans. They could be as obstreperous as they wanted, as long as they stayed far away from him. 

He just focused on fighting crime with Batman. It was definitely adequate to be punching criminals in the face in the middle of the night, with the Gotham air all around. The stars and moon were barely visible behind the dark sheet of clouds onto which the Bat-signal was occasionally projected. 

It was a night unlike any other, but similar all the same. 

Damian would’ve thought it better had Grayson been there by his side, punching criminals in the face with him. 

Alas, he was not. 

But he would be again one day, whether in this world or the next. He wasn’t going to let it take any longer. 

Damian followed the dark and brooding bat down the streets of Gotham. He’d already been accustomed to the dark of night before he came here. He couldn’t even remember a time where he hadn’t been. Gotham days, dreary and dark, never allowed sunlight into the city through the thick fog and clouds. 

As Damian watched the dark streets of Gotham, he wondered how it would look in a different light.


	14. Barbara

Barbara watched as the little dots on her screen indicated where each and every member of the Bat-fam were located. She wasn’t going to let another one get kidnapped. Perhaps this was the reason why she noticed immediately when Jason had separated from the others. 

“Hood! What are you doing?” Barbara hissed over the coms. 

“There’s some guy threatening a kid. I’m going to stop them, and you aren’t stopping me!” 

“Hood! Don’t separate from the group; it’s dangerous.” 

“Tell the slowpokes to keep up, then!” 

Barbara groaned before instructing Steph and Cass to follow him. They easily did as they were told, catching up to Jason in mere seconds without any trouble. This was going to be a long night if Jason continued to refuse to listen, and he did, as expected from someone like him. 

Bruce and Damian seemed to be doing well; they were normally a good pair now that Damian listened more—not that he listened all the time. The Dynamic Duo now fought side by side again, and their teamwork provided a reason to stop calling them the Destructive Duo. That never stopped certain people from referring to Batman and the current Robin as that, though. 

They still were quite destructive. 

Of course, everyone in the Bat-family caused destruction. It filled her with relief every time they managed to do something successfully without trouble. 

The rough night passed slowly. The tedious work of watching over every last crime and every last member bored her throughout the night. She’d learned to accept that she would never be able to fight by their side again. The horrible truth plagued her, haunting her mind more than the many other things she’d been forced to come to terms with. 

Death was fixable. 

Paralysis was not. 

But she could always build a way. That’s how Barbara Gordon lived her life. No matter what hardships were thrown her way, she overcame them. Nothing broke her determination when she made her decision. 

She had decided to help Batman. Nothing, not even failing as Batgirl, would change that, no matter the cost. 

She’d prevailed, just like she always did. Now, she watched her monitors as they viewed the city in various places. 

Jason still acted up. He forced her into reminding him several times throughout the night not to get separated, but the deranged lunatic still acted like a child, refusing to follow orders even when she gave them clearly. 

Batman and Robin were quiet. Too quiet. She couldn’t stop herself from checking in on them every now and then, ensuring they were still safe. 

She’d gone mad with fear over the past few days, becoming more meticulous than normal as she insisted on making things just so. Every detail had to be perfect. Nothing could be skipped over or neglected in any way...yet they still couldn’t find Richard. 

Deep down, she knew it wasn’t her fault, but that didn’t stop her from feeling it was. 

Oh, _feelings_. How she hated them so. Feelings weren’t logical. They were unpredictable, uncontrollable. They tore life apart and made it all come crashing down as soon as you let them get in the way. They caused you to make reckless decisions when you drowned in the midst of them. 

However, feelings plagued her life. They were simply a part of it, and she tried to accept that. Nevertheless, she would not permit for herself to be reckless, make illogical decisions, or anything of the sort. 

Never again. 

On certain days, she wondered. She asked herself ‘am I the only one who doesn’t make decisions only based off of how it makes me feel?’. Truth is, she wasn’t, but it darn well felt like it. After all, she worked with Bruce, Richard, Jason, Stephanie, and Damian. 

Days were dreary lately, and Richard’s absence hadn’t been what started it. She and Richard had gotten into a fight before he left, and she still couldn’t forgive herself for anger being the last he’d seen of her. 

She wondered if, wherever he was, Richard ever thought of her and felt he same guilt about their parting words. Maybe he questioned whether they would meet again as well. 

“Spoiler to Oracle,” Steph’s voice sounded over the coms. 

“Oracle speaking,” Barbara answered. 

“I think Ivy’s escaped Arkham.” 

Barbara sighed. “You three can handle it, right?” 

“Should be able to,” Steph answered. “For some reason, though, she hasn’t shown any signs of aggression.” 

“Oh, good. Maybe she’ll come quietly,” Barbara replied without any hope towards Ivy actually complying. 

“Harley’s here too,” Steph added after a moment. 

“Do I have permission to blow her up?” Jason asked (somewhat) jokingly. 

“Permission withheld,” Barbara responded. 

“Fine.” Barbara couldn’t see Jason, but she could tell he was pouting. 

“Let me know if you need backup,” Barbara commanded. In response, she got a crash over the coms. Shortly following it came Jason’s voice. 

“Okay, I will.” 

“Jason fell off the fire escape,” Steph chimed happily.


	15. Cassandra

Cassandra watched as Jason stood. He looked perfectly fine; she became certain he hadn’t been injured the moment she landed next to him. Steph finished climbing down the escape as if it were a ladder shortly after them. 

“Jason fell off the fire escape,” Steph informed Barbara, flashing a mischievous grin at Jason, whose body language suggested irritation and embarrassment. 

“You don’t have to report everything that happens-“ 

Barbara’s voice interrupted his sentence. “Good luck.” 

“Let’s get going!” Steph exclaimed enthusiastically, grabbing Jason’s wrist and dragging him with her. Following closely, Cassandra skipped along behind them. 

Ivy and Harley weren’t doing anything wrong, but they still needed to return to Arkham. Cassandra found it unusual that they weren’t breaking any laws; however, they still belonged in Arkham as long as they were considered mentally unwell. The pair appeared to be getting along finely, and Cassandra couldn’t help but wonder if they were allowed to interact inside Arkham Asylum. 

“Hi!” Steph greeted them merrily. 

“Hiya!” Harley replied. “Look, Ivy; they’re here! Told ya they’d come.” 

Ivy paused as she observed them. She seemed more hesitant than Harley. 

“Are you sure we can trust them?” She asked, eyeing them warily. 

“Oh, please,” Harley said, “they won’t cause any trouble. Except Red Bucket.” 

“Red _Hood_ ,” Jason corrected, hate lacing his voice. “What do you want?” 

“Hey!” Harley objected. “That’s no way to talk to a girl. Now use your nice voice.” 

“Stop treating me like a kid.” 

“Stop acting like one,” Harley countered, grinning from ear to ear as usual. 

Jason’s body language showed that he’d obviously been provoked. 

“Are we going to ask them?” Ivy looked at Harley questioningly. 

“Right,” Harley responded, obviously having forgotten the original reason for their presence. “Now, little birdies. We need help.” 

“Help with what?” Jason asked, filled with suspicion. 

“Some of our friends went a little missing,” Harley explained. “If I’m not mistaken, you have that problem too, right?” 

“What about it?” 

“We need your help finding them. In exchange, we’ll help you find your little birdie.” 

“What’s the catch?” 

“You have to promise not to throw them in Arkham.” 

“Sorry, we can’t just ignore what they’ve done.” 

“Bad,” Cassandra added. 

“Yes,” Harley replied, “bad.” 

“Is there any reason we shouldn’t be throwing you in Arkham right now?” Steph questioned. 

“Oh, there are plenty reasons,” Harley stated, “but there are more for throwing us back into Arkham.” 

“Cool; why don’t we do that right now?” Jason suggested, reaching for his guns. 

“You still haven’t heard us out,” Harley said. 

“I’ve heard enough,” Jason responded. 

“You can’t throw us back in Arkham, though,” Harley replied, taking out a piece of paper. Cassandra couldn’t read what it said, but there was a picture of Harley on the paper. 

“Why would those damn idiots think you’re _sane_?” Jasons voice raised to almost a shout. 

“No clue,” Harley said, her smile brightening, “but Ivy and I are cleared.” 

“What about all the lives you’ve taken?” Jason’s disbelief was evident, rage bubbling to the surface alongside it. 

“They found it sufficient to threaten me and watch my every move,” Harley replied cheerily. “As for Ivy, well”-her face darkened-“they’re watching her too. That wouldn’t matter if they hadn’t stolen her powers.” 

“What?” 

“I can’t control the green anymore,” Ivy stated. “I can grow them—I have a garden near my apartment—but I don’t have my powers.” 

Jason and Steph seemed taken aback, and Cassandra herself hadn’t been expecting the news. How had they not known this perviously? Everyone in the Batfam checked for news like this. 

Then, Cassandra realized how all of their efforts were truly going towards finding Richard. Even if someone had noticed, they probably forgot to tell others. 

“So are you going to help us, or do you not help civilians anymore?” Harley quizzed, a satisfied smirk on her face, for they were trapped. 

“Can’t promise we won’t throw anyone back in Arkham,” Jason said. 

“Fine!” Harley snapped, beginning to pout. “Of course you won’t help.” 

“I told you they wouldn’t,” Ivy said. 

“I guess you were right. They won’t play the hero if it means helping someone they don’t like,” Harley glared at them before walking away with Ivy. Cassandra barely heard Harley mutter “hypocrites” over the roaring of the wind.


	16. Bruce

“Were there any signs of Richard?” Bruce asked, as per the usual procedure. This had become the standard question after patrol, the in response to which one everyone desperately wanted to hear ‘yes’ 

“No signs of Richard,” Steph replied, “but Harley and Ivy have apparently been cleared from Arkham.” 

“What?” Bruce’s voice filled with disbelief, as much as he tried to keep it normal. 

“They are,” Barbara stated. “I double-checked after you encountered them.” 

Silence filled the Batcave. If it weren’t for her uncanny ability to seem to know everything that happened in Gotham City, she would’ve received several questioning glances. However, they’d become accustomed to it. 

“I still don’t get it,” Jason stated, breaking the momentary silence. “Why would they be cleared?” 

“The staff in Arkham are inadequate,” Damian answered. “You’ve said so yourself.” 

“I didn’t say that,” Jason said. “I said ‘they suck at their jobs and should be shot in the head for their idiocy. It wouldn’t kill them because they lack any vital organs there,’ and Bruce told me not to shoot the employees at Arkham.” 

“They still need to be watched,” Bruce said. “They’ve committed crimes and need to pay for it. They _should_ be in jail, even if they aren’t insane anymore.” 

“Ivy probably paid enough when she lost her powers,” Steph replied. “Besides, they’re probably struggling enough trying to find legal jobs that’ll accept them. That, or what they’re doing is illegal, and we’ll throw them in jail then.” 

“Who lost their powers?” Tim questioned, having entered the room unnoticed. From the dark circles under his eyes and the coffee mug in his hand, he obviously was restless despite his break. 

“Ivy,” Jason answered. “She and Harley are out of Arkham.” 

“Anything else I should know about?” 

_We found Richard._

The wanted response hung in the air for a moment before Bruce answered. 

“There are a few more reports of people disappearing in the same way as Dick. Barbara has already started on investigating.” 

Barbara nodded in confirmation. No one else added anything. Tim sighed and left the room, announcing that he was going to bed. 

“We _need_ to find Dick,” Jason stated. “He’s been gone for too long.” 

“Yeah,” Steph agreed, “but what more can we do?” 

“We could put a tracker on someone and allow them to get taken by the people,” Jason suggested. 

Barbara shook her head. “Richard had trackers. None of them lead anywhere. We’ve already double-checked locations of old trackers we’d already lost. Nothing.” 

“How can someone be so damn good at their job that _we_ can’t find him? It’s getting ridiculous! We have the World’s Greatest Detective on our side for goodness’ sake!” Jason yelled in frustration, only continuing after rethinking his last words. “Not you, Bruce.” 

Jason turned and stormed out of the cave. A small movement from the ground next to the door caught Bruce’s attention. 

The cat meowed. 

Everyone paused. 

“Star! What are you doing here? Where’s Irene?” Damian raced over to the cat. A few of the others exchanged exasperated looks. 

“What’s the cat say?” Steph asked. 

“Her owner was taken,” Damian replied. 

“Cool! A possible lead!” Steph exclaimed. 

“Find,” Cass contributed, obviously implying they were to find Richard. 

A quick conversation later and they were on their way to following the lead. Bruce, Damian, and Tim left to investigate the scene as their alter egos. Damian led the way under the instructions of the cat. 

“This is the spot,” Damian stated after talking to Star again. 

To their shock, there was already someone there in the alleyway. 

“I knew you would come,” the girl said. Something about her immediately offset Bruce. For some reason, his intuition screamed at him that she was dangerous, but... she was just a little kid. He glanced at his current companions, Tim and Damian. Both vicious and able to defend themselves even at a young age. 

He shouldn’t underestimate her. 

About half his height, she could pass as no older than eight, unless she suffered from dwarfism. She had long black hair and golden-yellow eyes which caused him to shiver as he made eye contact with her. 

She was certainly untrustworthy. 

“Did you need something?” Tim asked, clearly knowing the girl. 

“Do I really need anything, or is everything merely a want?” 

Tim’s eye twitched in frustration. “Did you find anything or not?” 

“The words ‘anything or not’ do not need to be found, unless you’ve lost them from your vocabulary.” 

A look of pure irritation settled on Tim’s face. The girl laughed. 

“I have managed to locate Nightwing, yes.” 

Bruce hid his astonishment, but somehow knew he hadn’t fooled anyone in the area. For a moment, he could’ve sworn the girl’s eyes glowed, but he shoved it aside. It might’ve been a hallucination, or it might’ve been real. Whatever it was, it was less important than finding Richard. 

“How?” Damian demanded. 

“By following the abductors when they abducted Irene, obviously.” 

Her boundless arrogance annoyed Bruce, reminding him of Damian’s misbehavior. Something about her smirk reminded him of Tim, and her shortness didn’t stop the comparison from continuing. 

“I do not appreciate you calling me short in your internal analysis of me,” the girl stated, as if she could read his mind. 

_If she’s a meta, she might be able to_ , Bruce thought. 

“If you want answers you can ask questions,” the girl stated. For a moment he triumphed—she couldn’t read his mind after all—but then he saw that her attention had turned completely to Damian. 

“Who are you? Where is Nightwing?” Damian questioned. 

“I am Alaina Mayberry. Nightwing is currently located in an underground base outside of Gotham city. At the moment, he is attempting to escape. He is alive and well, but he does not remember the past few days, for he was recovering from the sedatives they used in order to capture him. We should probably go there to assist him and free the other people they’ve abducted.” 

“ _We_ will go. _You_ will stay.” 

Damian and Tim were ready to listen. Alaina, however, was not. 

“To whom is ‘you’ referring?” 

“You, Alaina. Stay here.” 

“What are you going to say? ‘Kids don’t crime-fight’? In that case, you’re going alone.” 

“Where is the base?” Bruce interrogated, looming over Alaina. 

“I _would_ lead you there, but you seem against it.” 

“Tell me.” 

“What should I tell Me?” Alaina asked. “Who is this Me of whom you speak?” 

_This is just ridiculous_. 

“You’re wasting time trying to get answers out of me. I’ll lead you there and get their prisoners out with you, or I’ll do it by myself,” Alaina paused. “Actually, doing this by myself sounds better than dealing with you.” 

“Fine! Take us there.” 

“By ‘take us there’ you mean ‘lead the way to where the abductors are being kept’?” 

“Yes,” Bruce confirmed, obviously resisting the urge to jump ahead, leave them behind, and find Richard himself. 

Alaina turned and began to walk away, them following close behind her. Star followed as well. Bruce reported back to Barbara while they were on their way. He finished reporting the moment they stopped. 

“Where’s the entrance?” He questioned, surveying a field full of seemingly nothing. His ~~paranoia~~ intuition told him several unlikely possibilities. 

_She might be working for the enemy._

_She might be leading them into a trap._

_She might be as clueless as them._

In response to his question the girl crouched to the ground, felt around, and then lifted a trapdoor. Revealed beneath it there lay a dark hole, probably long enough down for someone to die if they fell. Luckily, there was a ladder, so they didn’t need any of their technology to assist them. Bruce didn’t like showing off in front of kids who could tell the enemy just exactly what tech he had. 

The cat, startling everyone except Alaina, was the first to jump. 

There was no way a cat could survive that fall. 

“Don’t worry,” Alaina comforted Damian, who appeared distraught. “Star will be fine.” 

“How do you know his name?” Damian inquired. 

“Good question,” Alaina replied with a smirk. Tim had already followed the cat down the ladder. “You might want to follow Drake.” 

Damian, caught off guard by her knowing ‘Drake’s’ identity, listened. Alaina followed, and a part of Bruce knew that she could tell he wanted to be either first or last. 

At the bottom of the ladder, there was a long corridor with barely any light. Footsteps shuffled loudly in the distance, and some voices sounded occasionally as they walked down the corridor, closer to the heart of a base. 

“Can you find Irene, please?” Alaina asked Star. The cat nodded in response before tasting the air and sprinting down the corridor. They chased after him quietly. 

After a few moments, they took a turn and ended up in a hallway, one which was being patrolled by guards. Bruce prepared himself to jump further into action, but was beaten to it by a door being flung off its hinges. 

There stood Richard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> R.I.P. door


	17. Richard

When Richard flung open the door, he expected to immediately be attacked by every guard in the area. Well, people tend to disappoint, and the guards did so by... not.. attacking... him..? Confusion struck Richard within moments. 

_Why..?_

He tried to just get through without disturbing them, but after he took a few too many steps away from the doorway, they all turned in sync. Then they all pointed their weapons at him. Richard sighed. 

_Of course._

He didn’t have any weapons, and he was surrounded by guards. How in the world was he going to get himself out of this one? 

“Catch!” Tim’s voice echoed slightly as the sounds of violence began. Richard looked up just in time to see the escrima sticks flying his way. Catching them in one hand, he turned, kicking a guard’s feet out from under itself. Soon his fury was unleashed into a frenzy of fighting. 

Richard noticed Batman and Robin there as well, and Tim, obviously, was fighting as Red Robin. 

As soon as it had begun, it was over, and every guard lay unconscious on the floor. 

“There are others here who have been kidnapped,” Batman stated. Richard nodded in response. 

It seemed like someone had already gone through some of the rooms and rescued a few people, as toddlers, children, teenagers, and adults all stood outside rooms. Richard’s heart broke a little when he spotted a small child, about five years old, who seemed to have lost all hope of escape. 

“It’s Robin!” another kid yelled. A few of the other kids squealed with delight, pointing and exchanging excited giggles. 

_At least the kids here are safe,_ Richard thought to himself. Many of the children didn’t seem like they’d lost any hope of escape. 

“Hey,” Richard greeted them. “We’re going to get you out of here, okay?” 

One of the kids squeaked. “Nightwing’s here too!” 

“C’mon,” Richard instructed, gesturing for the kids to follow them and glancing expectantly at Bruce. Bruce nodded and turned, ready to leave. 

—— 

Richard couldn’t explain how nice it felt to be outside of that place again. Not only outside there, but outside Gotham as well. The air was immensely fresher, despite the difference of being in or outside Gotham being a matter of meters. 

Gotham... wasn’t the cleanest, to say the least. 

“How many of you are from Gotham?” Richard asked. Several people raised their hands, many taking a moment before they put their hands up as well. 

Richard made his way through the list of nearby cities, slowly causing everyone to raise their hands, save for one girl who looked about ten years old. 

“Where are you from?” Richard asked. 

“I was born in DC, but I’m homeless now,” the girl replied. “Don’t worry about helping me; I’ll find my own way,” 

Richard thought about protesting, but shoved aside his worries. “Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“Yes,” she replied. The girl’s emerald eyes scanned the area, “Star! Come here, please.” 

A black and white cat immediately bolted to her side; the girl scooped it up and turned away, disappearing into Gotham city within moments. 

Richard paused before turning his attention back to those who needed to be transported home. It took a while, but soon, everyone was back safely. 

“What happened to Alaina?” Dami wondered. 

“I guess she found her own way home,” Tim answered, “like we should.” 

Dami nodded and they all left the scene, stopping by the police to make sure the kidnappers were punished properly, but Richard’s gut told him nothing would happen. Gotham’s law enforcement was horrid. 

—— 

The manor stood tall ahead of them, looming in the distance like an hour-away deadline when you haven’t started working. It could’ve also resembled an oncoming event for which you had to be talked into going by your best friend. 

This, and he considered himself more optimistic than normal. He lived in a _circus;_ manors weren’t exactly his thing. Wayne Manor had never felt like a home. It was old and smelly, and he always felt small looking around at its size. He’d grown more used to it over the years, but he’d still rather travel the world in a circus where he had friends who were more like family. 

Nevertheless... 

“Home sweet home,” Richard said as they arrived at the entrance to the Batcave. 

Everyone turned to look as the doors opened. 

“You’re back!” Babs exclaimed when he entered. Cass immediately jumped over there into a hug. 

“‘Sup, Dickhead?” Jay greeted. Steph joined the hug with a little to much enthusiasm, almost knocking Richard over (intentionally). Tim joined after her, and soon Dami (hesitantly) as well. 

“...It’s good to have you back, Grayson.” 

“Aw, thanks, Dami!” Richard ruffled the small child’s hair. 

Jay reluctantly joined, saying that he ‘is too awesome to be left out’, with which Richard agreed. No one deserved to be left out of a hug-fest. 

Richard looked around at the smiling faces. 

Seeing them with their smiling faces, he felt like the luckiest man in the world. 

“You guys are the best,” Richard said. 

“Damn right,” Jason replied. 

“What Todd said,” Dami added. “I am obviously superior.” 

Tim jabbed Dami in the side, and they ended up chasing each other around the room. 

Richard laughed, watching as the usual proceedings began around him. He carefully picked his way across the room to Babs. 

“Hey, Babs,” he greeted. 

“Hi.” 

“Mind filling me in on what happened while I was gone?” 

Babs started talking, and Richard couldn’t help but stare at her with his usual dorky grin the whole time. 

_Man, it’s good to be back._

**End Work**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s done! I’m sorry I’ve been so inactive; I’ve been working on so many things, such as the works from _Batfam Moments_.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Comments, kudos, and constructive criticism are always welcomed.
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you in the next work.
> 
> Bye!

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings:  
> Violence  
> Bloodshed  
> Mentions of child abuse and neglect  
> Substance abuse and addiction  
> Depression, anxiety, etc.  
> Angst  
> Cursing  
> The occasional grammatical error


End file.
